“Really?” Rose asked. “I mean, it’s not that I thought you were incapable of being in a monogamous relationship. It’s just…I didn’t think you’d want to.”
“I know. It’s weird for me, too,” Kara teased. She shrugged. “Honestly, sleeping around is just something I do when I’m single. Because it’s easier than relationships, and it staves off the loneliness. And of course, I do enjoy sex.”
Rose laughed at that, “Of course.”
“But right now, I’m in love with you, and you love me back. And,” Kara paused, shrugging, “I just don’t have the desire to be with anyone else. To be honest, I didn’t truly want to have sex with other people when I first fell in love with Alana. But it was the kind of relationship she wanted, and…I got lonely.”
Rose watched her for a moment, her lips curving into a soft, affectionate smile. “Do you know how much it means to me that you let me in?” she asked. “When you tell me these things about you, these personal things that you don’t usually talk about, it means the world to me. I love learning things about you.”
“The last person I trusted this much was Alana, and she ripped me apart, mentally and emotionally,” Kara sighed. “I always thought that I wouldn’t trust anyone like that ever again, but then, I met you. And…I guess…I’m trying again.”
“You know I’d never hurt you like she did, right?” Rose asked softly.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” Kara breathed. She brushed her fingers over Rose’s cheek. “I’m sure you can hear my heart doing all these crazy flips right now,” she muttered, and Rose was stunned to see that Kara was blushing. Actually blushing. Kara offered Rose an enticing smile. “So, why don’t we go find our room?”
Rose spread out her arms. “Lead the way. I’ll get lost, if you don’t.”
Kara laughed. “Follow me, my lady,” she said with a playful, flirty bow.
25
Equal
Rose set her backpack on the hardwood floor, beside the door. She raised her eyebrow as she swept her gaze around the room. Aside from the lack of lights and windows, it looked like a typical log cabin, and with her sensitive, nocturnal eyesight, she barely even noticed the lack of electric lights. As a matter of fact, it actually made it easier to see. Two, plush, crimson-red rugs covered the hardwood floor, beneath the two, crimson-red armchairs and beneath the four-poster bed, which was also covered in crimson-colored bedding. Paintings of scenic places, beautiful lakes and waterfalls, covered the log-cabin-style walls. “No offense,” she said dryly, smiling at Kara, “but this looks much cozier than the Tomb of Blood.”
Kara stepped closer and slid her arms around Rose’s waist, a flirty smirk tugging at her lips as she gazed down at Rose. “Hey, now, I could have made you a lot cozier at the Tomb of Blood, if you had only let me,” she said playfully.
“I was referring to the furniture and décor,” Rose said, looping her arms around Kara’s neck. “Being in your arms is cozy, regardless of the surroundings.”
Kara smiled and pulled Rose closer, until Rose’s soft curves pressed against her front. A spark of mischief flashed in her light blue eyes as she leaned in close and whispered in Rose’s ear, “Oh? What about being between my legs?”
A surprised giggle escaped from Rose’s lips, and a warm, pink flush spread across her face. She leaned back and offered Kara a shy smile. “That, too.”
Kara raised an eyebrow. “Ah,” she murmured. “Now, I’m speechless.”
Rose laughed. “It was bound to happen eventually,” she teased.
Kara’s smile deepened, transforming from that surprised, slightly-turned-on smile to a warm, affectionate smile that reached every part of her face. “You have no idea how wonderful it is to see that sassy smile on your face again.”
Rose smiled hesitantly. “I can’t promise I won’t fall apart again,” she told her. She placed her hand over her chest. “The sadness is still here. It still hurts.”
“I know, love,” Kara murmured. She tucked a lock of red hair behind Rose’s ear. “I wish there were a way for me to take that pain away from you.”
“Well,” Rose said with a smile, “you are pretty good at distracting me.”
“Oh?” Kara said. “Is there a certain kind of distraction you’re craving?”
Rose blushed. “Is there a certain kind of distraction you want to create?”
Kara snorted at the evasive answer. “Let’s get you out of those clothes, and I’ll show you,” she growled, taking Rose’s face in her hands and kissing her.
Rose leaned into the kiss, her eyes sliding closed. “Yeah. Clothes. Bad.”
Kara laughed against Rose’s lips, moving her hands to Rose’s jacket and unzipping it without ever breaking away from Rose’s lips. She kicked the door closed with her boot, and then, as Rose stepped back to slide off her jacket, Kara fumbled with the lock until it clicked in place. She could’ve locked it quicker if she’d turned to look at it, but she was too busy enjoying the sight of Rose stripping off her jacket. When Rose finished, she said, “Feel free to keep going.”
Rose blushed under her lustful gaze. “You mean…take off my clothes?”
Kara leaned against the door, watching her with a hungry smile. “That is the idea, isn’t it?” she murmured seductively. “Unless you’re not in the mood?”
“No, I’m very much in the…” Rose trailed off, her blush deepening.
Kara chuckled, watching as Rose fumbled nervously with her jeans. But she couldn’t help but notice that Rose shivered a little as she did. “Are you cold?”
“What? Cold? In the Arctic?” Rose said sassily. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Kara laughed. “Let me start the fire. We’ll resume our activities afterward.”
Rose dropped her arms to her side. “Right. Pause the…activities,” she mumbled awkwardly, her face flushed. She watched as Kara strode over to the fireplace and knelt in front of it. With her mind already so full of disorienting, aroused bubbles, Rose couldn’t help but notice how perfectly the leather pants stretched over Kara’s thighs and backside as she knelt. Kara glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at Rose, and Rose quickly rushed over to join her.
Rose sat down on the plush, red rug, next to Kara. She crossed her legs in front of her, watching as Kara started the fire. “Our English word kindle,” she blurted out, “is derived from an Old Norse word.” She glanced hesitantly at Kara.
“Kynda,” Kara agreed with a smile. “I didn’t think you knew Old Norse.”
“I don’t,” Rose told her. She shrugged. “I just know the origins of almost every word in the English language. And the origins of most modern names.”
Kara turned away from the fireplace and raised an eyebrow. “Just?”
Rose blushed. “It’s just a thing I do. I get interested in random things, which leads to me reading books about it, which leads to me memorizing lots of useless information about it, which leads to me blurting it out at random times.”
Kara smiled at her. “Well, I happen to love listening to you blurt it out.”
“Really?” Rose said with a shy smile. “Because it annoys most people.”
“Not me,” Kara told her. She returned her attention to the fire. “Your passion is one of the most beautiful things about you, Rose, and that’s what I see in your eyes when you do that.” She glanced at Rose. “Your passion for learning.”
Rose felt her face grow warm. “Kynda? Is that how you pronounced it?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Kara said. “Would you like to learn Old Norse, Rose?”
“Yes,” Rose said easily. She watched as Kara continued to build the fire. “I love learning new languages. I’m fluent in Greek. I’m adequate at basic Latin. I took three classes in Old English. I’m fluent in Spanish and have been since high school. I also took a few high school classes in French, but I’m far from fluent…”
“That’s a lot for a twenty-three-year-old,” Kara said, her eyebrows high.
Rose shrugged sheepishly. “I’m a
fast learner. If I read enough about a subject and practice it enough, I master it fairly quickly. Only the intellectual stuff, though. I’m not so good at the social stuff. Or the physical stuff,” she rambled. “Although, I do think I’m better at the physical stuff now that I’m a vampire.”
Kara piled the smaller logs inside the fireplace. “You’re doing very well, in my opinion,” she said as she added the kindling. “Marvelous, for a beginner.”
Rose blushed. “Thanks,” she said, surprised. “But yeah, I’d love to learn Old Norse. I’d want to learn every language that’s ever existed, if I had time.”
“If?” Kara said. “You’re a vampire now. You have nothing but time.”
Rose blinked. “Oh. I guess I do,” she realized. The flames danced in the fireplace, bathing them in a warm, golden glow. “If I survive everything to come.”
“You will,” Kara said confidently. She raked her hands over her leather-clad thighs, dusting them off, and she turned to face Rose. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Rose watched the shadows, cast by the fire, as they danced across Kara’s face. She watched the shifting glow of the fire as it highlighted the blue strands of Kara’s dark hair. She watched the fire’s light reflect in Kara’s light blue eyes, causing them to sparkle and glisten like ice. “Will you teach me your language?”
A smile curved slowly at the corners of Kara’s lips. “With pleasure.”
Rose swallowed uneasily—because…Kara had this way of speaking, this way of purring certain words, of growling others, of making each word innately seductive. And the way she’d said the word pleasure just then—well, Rose suddenly felt very warm, and she suspected that it was only partially because of the fire.
Kara leaned forward, onto her knees, closing the space between them. “Let’s start with another easy one,” she murmured. “Kyssa. Say kyssa for me, ást.”
“Kyssa,” Rose repeated, watching the slow, sensual curve of Kara’s lips.
“Perfect,” Kara whispered, her voice barely audible above the crackling of the fire. She tilted her face closer. “Do you know what kyssa means, Rose?”
A shy smile twitched at one corner of Rose’s lips. “I’m sure I can guess,” she said slowly, blushing, “but…umm…maybe you could show me. Just in case.”
Kara’s smile deepened. “I was hoping you’d ask,” she breathed, her lips so close that Rose felt each word against her lips. Kara tilted her head, finding the most comfortable angle, her breath dancing across Rose’s lips. “Kyssa…means…”
Rose closed her eyes, smiling, as Kara kissed her. She lifted her hands to brush Kara’s sleek, dark hair from her face and tilted her head for a deeper kiss.
“Do you understand?” Kara whispered. “Or should I show you again?”
“I think I need you to show me again,” Rose murmured against her lips.
“Liar,” Kara laughed, but she kissed her, anyway. She held Rose’s face to hers as she deepened the kiss, tasting her slowly, exploring her mouth indulgently.
Rose trailed her fingers down Kara’s neck, down to Kara’s chest, where she felt the slight curve of Kara’s breasts beneath her palm. She moaned as Kara’s mouth found her neck, nipping lightly. The scent of woodsmoke filled the room, mixing with the scent of violets and leather, and the unmistakable scent of lust.
Kara curled her hands around Rose’s hips and tugged, gently laying Rose down on the plush, crimson-red rug—now warmed by the fire. She climbed over Rose, her blue and black hair falling between them, her lips seeking out Rose’s.
Rose moved her hands between them, dragging them over the muscles of Kara’s stomach, down to the leather pants that hung low around her waist. She smiled as she heard Kara’s breath catch in her throat, as she heard Kara’s pulse quicken. Rose raised up, kissing Kara harder, as she slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of Kara’s pants, beneath her underwear, to touch her intimately.
Kara moaned at the softness of her fingers, the gentleness of her touch.
Rose froze as someone knocked softly at the door. She glanced toward the door, frowning as she tried to figure out if she’d really heard a knock or not.
Kara recognized that scent immediately—the soft, sweet scent of sweet pea petals and very familiar vampire blood. “It’s Elise,” she told Rose with a laugh.
“Oh,” Rose mumbled, still watching the door. She slid her hand out of Kara’s pants. “Umm…I like Elise quite a bit, but I’d really like to get back to…”
Kara grinned. “Leave it to me,” she whispered, “and stay turned on.”
Rose frowned. “Uhhh,” she said awkwardly, as she watched Kara climb to her feet, “I’m not sure if that’s something I can actually physically control.”
Kara chuckled. She didn’t even bother to straighten her clothes as she strolled over to the door. Her black, long-sleeved shirt rode up around her lean stomach, the fabric bunched up where Rose’s hands had been, and her pants hung open, unbuttoned and unzipped, revealing the black underwear underneath.
Rose sat up straight and dragged her fingers through her long, red hair.
Kara, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit ashamed of her disheveled appearance as she opened the door and leaned against the doorframe. She crossed her arms and raised both eyebrows at Elise. “Lovely nightgown. Bad timing.”
Elise giggled. “I’m terribly sorry,” she said with a soft laugh. She slid into the room as Kara stepped out of her way. “But I was just wondering if either of you had any lotion with you.” She clasped her hands in front of her and shrugged.
Kara turned and walked over to her duffel bag, which lay on the dresser.
Rose stared at Elise, a flush spreading over her face, as she realized that Elise was in even more of a disheveled state than she was. Her yellow-blonde curls hung around her face in a messy, chaotic way, as if she’d been running her hands through them a little too much, and she wore nothing but a sheer, pink nightgown with red lace that barely brushed the tops of her thighs. “Lotion?” she managed to say, finally. “Why would we have lotion? Vampires don’t get dry skin, do we?”
Elise tilted her head to the side, messy spiral-curls falling over her mostly bare shoulder. “No,” she giggled, “but lotion still feels and smells nice.” Her smile widened, revealing bright teeth and fangs. “It’s also nice to use during a massage.”
Rose frowned. “Have you decided to become a massage therapist?”
Elise tilted her head back and laughed. “No,” she said with an amused smile. She walked over to the fireplace and sank to her knees beside Rose. She lowered her voice as she moved her face closer to Rose. “I’m having sex,” she whispered playfully, “and massages are…very sexy.” She laughed as Rose blushed.
“With whom?” Kara asked distractedly. She didn’t sound like she really cared, more like she was just making conversation as she rifled through her bag.
Elise stood and turned away from the fire, facing Kara, who stood on the other side of the room with her back to them. “Well, Tom is gay. Nina and Isolde are not gay. Isaac is straight but totally intolerable. Who does that leave?”
Kara glanced at her, eyebrows high. “Aaron, Erik, Cassius, and Bradley.”
“It’s not Aaron, Bradley, or Cassius,” Elise provided with a playful smile.
Kara rolled her eyes. “Why do all of my ex-girlfriends sleep with Erik?”
“Alana and I are not all of your ex-girlfriends,” Elise said, laughing. She offered Kara a teasing, good-natured smile. “You have like…millions…of those.”
“Damn,” Kara said, pretending to be offended. “There aren’t that many.”
“Well,” Rose laughed, joining in the teasing, “at least you don’t have to worry about me sleeping with Erik, too. Erik and I are completely incompatible.”
Kara pulled a small bottle of lotion out of her bag and then turned back toward Rose, leaning against the dresser. A fond smile pulled upward at the edges of her lips. “I’m kind of hoping that you won’t
ever be my ex-girlfriend, anyway.”
Rose smiled, surprised by the hesitant sincerity in her voice. “Really?”
Elise glanced back and forth between them, her blue-gray eyes sparkling with delight. She clasped her hand over her lace-covered chest. “Aww!” she cried.
Kara and Rose both rolled their eyes at the same time. “Here,” Kara said, crossing the room to hand the bottle of lotion to Elise. “You can just…keep it.”
Elise took the bottle of lotion from her and glanced down at it, frowning at the elegant label. “Ooh, this is an expensive kind. I didn’t know you used this.”
Kara crossed her arms across her chest and stared at the floor, purposely avoiding their gazes. “I don’t,” she said as Elise opened the bottle and sniffed it.
Elise gave her a puzzled look. “Then…why do you have it?” she laughed.
Kara shrugged a little too aggressively, and her face contorted with pain.
Rose recognized the scent of the lotion—that soft, elegant scent. As a matter of fact, she recognized it almost immediately, as soon as Elise opened the bottle. But she didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to embarrass Kara.
Elise frowned, confused by Kara’s silence. “You don’t want it back?”
“No,” Kara said quickly, holding up her hand. “Please. Just…keep it.”
Elise still looked a little unsure, but she nodded anyway. “Goodnight,” she said as she turned to leave. She blew kisses to them. “Have fun, ladies.”
After Elise left, Rose muttered, “Did she really just tell us to have fun?”
Kara chuckled at her. “Elise is a lot of things, but shy isn’t one of them,” she said as she returned to the fireplace. “Did she ever tell you how she died?”
“No,” Rose said. “She mentioned that Lafi helped her understand what she was, though. But I guess that was probably a little while after she died.”
Kara nodded and knelt on the rug, in front of Rose. “Yeah, I think it was about a month after Elise’s death when Lafi brought her to the Tomb of Blood.”
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